The Lonely Island's 'Popstar' is just as ridiculous as you'd expect — and wildly entertaining

That seems to be the knee-jerk response from movie viewers who haven't heard of Popstar: Never stop never stopping, but fans familiar with The Lonely Island's body of work know their abilities extend well beyond gift-wrapped genitalia.

In Popstar, the immensely talented trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone team up for a musical mockumentary stuffed to the gills with absurd humor and crazy cameos, and the result is raucously entertaining. The hilarity is as relentless as the title suggests, but you kind of wish it would never stop.

Popstar, directed by Taccone and Schaffer, is the story of Conner4Real (Samberg), the world's biggest musical star who has ascended to solo icon status after a break from his three-piece ensemble outfit Style Boyz (sound like anyone you know?). Former Style Boy Owen (Taccone) then joins Conner on tour, while their third friend Lawrence (Schaffer) becomes a woodworking recluse.

Like any boy-band documentary worth its salt, Popstar introduces us to Conner at a turning point in his career — at the top of his game, lauded by fellow artists and anticipating a sold-out tour and platinum album release.

Samberg manages to make Conner appear — well, for real. He’s ludicrous, but not so much so that he can’t be redeemed. He’s naive, but able to grow, and arrogant, but remorseful and eventually more mature. As Conner’s career nosedives, his anger and pain feel real — a step above comedies with a similar sensibility but mercifully shy of a real-life doc.

Conner having one of the film's less-traumatic fan encounters (you'll know the alternative when you see it).

Image: universal

The film's trailer boasted dozens of cameos from every corner of Conner's life, and all together that crowdedness challenges the cast of comedians to make their few seconds or minutes on screen count. Maya Rudolph manages that with a little choice pronunciation in her scene as corporate sponsor Deborah, as does Seal when he does Conner a favor. In a film where Pink rides a unicorn and Justin Timberlake cuts carrots, the most riotous guest scenes belong to the coterie of Will Arnett, Chelsea Peretti, Eric Andre and Mike Birbiglia, whose running media commentary inflates and punctuates the film at perfect intervals.

The songs are intensely, unabashedly Lonely Island in style, with the best beat blown up right out the gate by “Humble.” “Finest Girl” may have shocked casual SNL viewers, but it fits right into the Popstar world along with "Equal Rights," a gay-panic rap masquerading as social good.

The production handles the heightened drama of documentaries and fiction with expert care. There are moments that emulate the high stakes of Empire, contextualized with the knowledge that maybe the music industry isn't life-or-death.

Schaffer, Taccone and Samberg on the set of Conner's mansion in 'Popstar.'

Image: universal

A thin and obligatory reading would yield that the Style Boyz are The Lonely Island and Conner stands in as an exaggerated depiction of Samberg’s television and film career, but the film is clearly a love story and a love letter. It’s about three friends who work best when they're together, made by those friends who have been collaborating and supporting each other for almost 20 years.

Popstar is in every way a group effort, with songs and script penned by its three creators. The most evocative scenes are of the trio making music in a farmhouse or home video footage from the Style Boyz’ past, because we know it to be true. In those scenes, it becomes a Lonely Island documentary, which would have been decidedly less compelling since they're exemplary friends and colleagues.

In the end, you become invested in Conner's success, because he and The Lonely Island come from those home videos of kids making each other laugh. His success is their success, and the success of dorky kids around the world who want to work forever with their dorky friends. With Popstar, The Lonely Island proves that they're only just getting started.

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